Featured Trainer: Jason LaBeach

It may take a village to raise a child, but sometimes it takes continents to mold your destiny.

Jason LaBeach was born in Washington DC and raised in Lagos, Nigeria for nearly a decade of his life. He then found himself moving again, this time to Athens, Ohio, after earning a football scholarship to Ohio University. Since his father was an Olympic Sprinter, sports played a pivotal role in Jason’s life. Despite the positive influence he had on him, Jason says, “I had no concept of nutritional value and just wanted to gain weight.”

Upon finishing grad school, Jason started a marketing career, which involved as much stress as it did travel. By the time he reached 40, he weighed 278 lbs. and barely had any strength or energy. Jason realized that once the days of sports and having a coach ended, it was time to bring back health and discipline. Aside from regimented nutrition, he focused on total body movements such as burpees, lunges and circuit training, since they burn the most calories.

As time progressed, an opportunity brought Jason to Vasa Fitness in Utah where he met former Personal Trainer Jonah Bolton. Jason says, Jonah “really took interest in what I was doing to fix my broken down body. Not only did he show me what to do, he showed me what an influence a personal trainer can be in their clients’ lives and that inspired me.” In turn, Jason started to educate himself about the foods he was eating and heal his injured body from years of rigorous sports and bad posture. The more Jason enjoyed transforming himself, the more personal training shaped his new career.

Jason stayed committed to Vasa Fitness and he eventually became a personal trainer there. Looking at the personal training world as a whole, Jason believes that managers tend to forget to lead by example. He says, “If you want people that report to you to be accountable to you (and their clients), then you have to be accountable to them and do a good job.”

Currently, Jason practices what he preaches. Even though the majority of Jason’s clients have a goal to lose weight, he tries to keep his personal training specialty as well-rounded as possible. More importantly, Jason never let his love for sports fade away. He is a football and strength and conditioning coach at a local high school, and a snowboard instructor. That he says, “Really helped me understand how to teach balance. Coaching has shown me how hard you can push yourself if you are motivated in the right way.”

In addition to sports, Jason also dedicates his current knowledge and expertise in personal training to Smart Fitness. He says, “Smart Fitness gave me some great practical information that I use on a regular basis. Great info on plate machines and much more in-depth education about nutrition.” Looking into the future, Jason is just living in the moment and enjoying what he’s doing and teaching everyone he meets the value experience has over money.